Do You Want To Live Or Die? Activities

Brotherhood meetingsWeekly on-site Brotherhood meetings form the core of the Brotherhood program. The young men gather with Mr. Gilkey to discuss various topics such as the definition of a man, relationship roadblocks, self-reflection, evaluating self-worth and credibility, and morals and values. The discussions are designed to make the young men think about respect, responsibility, attitude, work ethic, loyalty and positive thinking.

Mr. Gilkey brings in outside speakers to challenge and inspire the young men. Past presenters include members of the Wichita Police Department, ex-felons, business owners, doctors and ministers.

The weekly meetings cement the group's identity, creating an alternative world for the young men Do You Want To Live Or Die? serves. They help the participants understand their options and encourage them to be active in becoming real men with real futures.

﻿﻿Service Learning Programs﻿﻿In addition to weekly sessions, Mr. Gilkey organizes service learning projects. These projects cultivate the sense of self-worth and self-esteem that comes from helping others. The young men read to younger students, work at the Kansas Food Bank, conduct food and clothing drives, and develop and participate in events to commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Monthly WorkshopsMonthly workshops were added to the program in 2015. Participants from all five high schools attend. Outside speakers underscore and highlight the program's core values. The group sessions create a sense of community and partnership among the participants, so critical to these young men who often feel marginalized and alone.

College VisitsCollege tours give young men the opportunity to truly see the opportunities that exist for them. Many of these young men do not know anyone who has gone to college; they cannot imagine what a college is. These trips make it real and help them focus their school efforts. Visits have included Butler Community College, Cowley Community College, Hutchinson Community College, Coffeyville Community College, Southwestern College, and the Wichita Area Technical College.

To support the students' educational aspirations, Do You Want To Live Or Die? provides participants the opportunity to attend workshops to prepare for taking the ACT, completing the FAFSA, and conducting a college search.

Visiting Businesses & Other GroupsDo You Want To Live Or Die? wants to open the eyes of these young men to see the multitude of opportunities available to them. Mr. Gilkey works with local business leaders to organize visits to places of work with exposure to different industries.

Mr. Gilkey has organized team building activities including glass blowing, fishing, and attending sporting events. They have traveled to the Amish community near Hutchinson, exposing them to a new way of living, and the underground salt mine to challenge their perspective of the Earth. And they have visited a prison, showing these young men what prison is really like.

These trips and activities expose the young men to many new and different experiences so they can see there is a whole other world out there besides the gang corner down the street.

DEMO eventIn April, Do You Want To Live Or Die? sponsors an all-day community-wide event known as the DEMO Conference: Developing Every Man's Opportunity. Mr. Gilkey includes all of his students and invites members from various other community organizations to join them for a day of learning and inspiration.

[David will] tell them some men failed boys in this town. That fathers have failed sons, by deserting families, by going to jail, by defining manhood as joining gangs rather than getting a job, staying home and tying shoes onto small feet. He’ll tell them how young men fool themselves and go wrong. “The new rites of passage are prisons and gangs,” he said.--Roy Wenzl, The Wichita Eagle, April 24, 2014

The 7th Annual DEMO Conference will be held on Saturday, April 23. See the event page for more information.